Chapter 30: Defeating Ten Sects

Chapter 30: Defeating Ten Sects

Lou Yuqing closed the system panel.

Unseen by her, the system displayed a line of text: This major juicy gossip has been delivered. One hundred and forty-five people were involved: Gu Bugai, Si Nidie, Shi Xiuxiu…

Huh?

Lou Yuqing suddenly felt a chill, as if someone was watching her. She turned around, but found nothing.

Could it be that she's mistaken?

Lou Yuqing looked at the sky again with some skepticism.

The next moment, the surrounding disciples looked over like thieves, secretly observing Lou Yuqing.

When Lou Yuqing spoke just now, they immediately realized that she was the owner of that voice.

How did she manage to predict other people's future? Qi Luofeng's actions were completely exposed in front of her.

More importantly, they couldn't say it to each other's faces; they could only communicate through whispers in private.

The disciples discussed it enthusiastically in private.

Si Nidie joined the discussion and occasionally revealed some things.

She was among the first to hear people's innermost thoughts, and she was already suffering from having no one to share them with. Now that she saw so many like-minded people, she couldn't hold back any longer.

And so, in this inexplicably joyful atmosphere, time flowed by like water.

"They've arrived," someone said.

Under Elder Xu's control, the sky screen switched to the end of the Heavenly Ladder.

The young man in white took the lead and reached the 990th step of the Heavenly Ladder, leaving the second-place runner a full 266 steps behind.

Lou Yuqing heard Si Nanren sigh, "This man is no ordinary person."

There was a sense of admitting defeat in his words.

Si Nidie glanced at her brother in surprise and said, "It is indeed much faster than we were back then. In the same amount of time, we were still struggling on more than seven hundred steps."

Although the white-robed youth clearly possessed cultivation, this did not affect the outcome, because his cultivation would be sealed after ascending the Heavenly Ladder.

Lou Yuqing had never climbed the Heavenly Ladder before and didn't know what it meant, but she could tell that the white-robed youth was indeed very fast.

The young man in white took a long stride and stepped over the last step.

A burst of light suddenly shone at the end of the Heavenly Ladder, engulfing the figure of the white-robed youth. In the next instant, he was teleported to the plaza of the Wendao Sect.

Everyone instinctively looked at him.

The young man in white smiled generously, showing no sign of awkwardness.

The disciples returned polite smiles. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, they would be fellow disciples from now on, unless his spiritual root aptitude was too poor.

The young man in white thought to himself, "The disciples of Wendao Sect are indeed very enthusiastic, just as Haozi said. Moreover, they are a large and powerful family, so they should be able to withstand any trouble."

Suddenly, his gaze fixed on a certain spot, a look of doubt flashing in his eyes.

What is that?

A rectangular wooden sign was held high, with an owl drawn on it, its head and eyes large, and its feathers fluffy and soft.

She is cute.

But what does this mean?

The next moment.

A head peeked out from beside the sign, and the girl blinked her bright eyes: "Is that you?"

Lou Yuqing remembered Hao Tianping's words to her—"He's the most eye-catching one in the crowd"—and she felt that the young man in white was very likely the person she was looking for.

After all, he was number one.

Thinking this, Lou Yuqing took out a carefully crafted sign with the other person's name drawn on it so that the other person could recognize it at a glance.

The young man in white was taken aback when he heard her question. He was about to say that she had mistaken him for someone else when he suddenly noticed the three small characters in the lower right corner of the sign: Ling Yunxiao.

"..."

So, the owl depicts him?

Ling Yunxiao glanced at the adorable portrait, feeling it didn't quite match his own image, and hesitated, "Perhaps it's me? If no one shares my name."

"That's you." Lou Yuqing stepped out of the crowd with delight and stuffed the sign into his hand. She hadn't expected to find him so quickly.

Ling Yunxiao looked at the token in his arms, his eyes blank for a moment, then after thinking for a while, he put the token into his storage bag and said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Senior Brother Hao told me to take care of you, so you'll follow my instructions from now on, understand?" Lou Yuqing adopted a bossy demeanor.

Ling Yunxiao nodded: "I know, Haozi, he..."

Realizing something was amiss, he immediately changed his tune, saying, "No, why didn't Hao Tianping come?"

Mouse...

Lou Yuqing suddenly felt uneasy. From now on, whenever she thought of Senior Brother Hao, the first thing that would pop into her mind would be an image of a rat.

Hao Tianping: Achoo!

"Senior Brother Hao was punished in the solitary confinement room of the Enforcement Hall. He was released after about a year. If you want to visit him, I will take you there later, but you can't stay long," Lou Yuqing said.

Ling Yunxiao was stunned: "Huh?"

Ling Yunxiao suddenly realized why the rat had been so vague when he was talking to it, not giving him a chance to ask questions. It turned out the rat was afraid of losing face if it spoke out.

But does it make a difference whether you lose it sooner or later?

Ling Yunxiao smiled and shook his head, thinking of going to the solitary confinement room to make fun of him to his face, but said aloud, "It's been a long time since I've seen him, and I do miss him a bit, so I'll leave it to you."

Lou Yuqing readily agreed, "It's wrapped up."

Looking at her smiling face, Ling Yunxiao's mood unconsciously improved, until the girl's clear voice suddenly rang in his ears.

Wow, Ling Yunxiao's nickname really is owl, I guessed it right!

? ? ?

A bunch of question marks popped up above Ling Yunxiao's head. He subconsciously looked at Lou Yuqing, only to find that the girl's mouth was closed.

[Speaking of which, if Senior Brother Hao is a mouse and Ling Yunxiao is an owl, wouldn't they become someone else's food?]

Ling Yunxiao: "..."

That's true.

Everyone perked up, seemingly looking away nonchalantly, but in reality, their ears were perked up like antennas. If they weren't eager to watch the drama unfold, something was wrong with their thinking.

Lou Yuqing flipped through the system panel.

No wonder Ling Yunxiao ran so fast; he actually possesses a rare Shadow Spirit Root, using his shadow as a vessel to subtly weaken the Heavenly Ladder's suppression of him.

Ling Yunxiao was startled and glanced at the girl beside her. Then she realized that it was probably Haozi who told her that Haozi's mouth was like a sieve.

Hao Tianping: Achoo!

Who exactly is cricketing behind his back?

The expressions of everyone immediately turned to envy.

The Shadow Spirit Root is a mutated spiritual root among the five elements. Its cultivation speed is second only to the Heavenly Spirit Root. If paired with the corresponding cultivation techniques, its overall strength can leap forward significantly.

Sect Leader Qingxuzi and others were overjoyed, feeling a sense of appreciation for his talent. They believed that if they nurtured this young man, Wendao Sect would surely have another pillar of strength in the future.

"Junior Brother Meng?" Qingxuzi asked with a smile, "How was it?"

Qingxuzi's first question was to Meng Zonghan, because among the group, only Meng Zonghan had shown interest in taking on a disciple.

Meng Zonghan was naturally pleased, but after much consideration, he said helplessly, "Sect Leader, I don't know much about Shadow Spirit Roots, so it's best not to mislead others."

Qingxuzi frowned: "That's true. There are very few cultivation techniques in the sect that are suitable for the Shadow Spirit Root. If we delay this promising talent, it will be a loss. Do you have any good suggestions? We can't just leave him outside the main peak."

Elder Kui Tu pondered and said, "Why not let this boy enjoy the treatment of a personal disciple for now? I see that he seems to have his own inheritance, so he shouldn't need to use the sect's techniques."

Madam Hongyan agreed, "Senior Brother Wei is right."

"Where is Junior Brother Zeng?" Qingxuzi asked.

Zeng Xuangan smiled and said, "I will follow my senior brother's arrangement, but these kinds of disciples still need to go through the test of conscience to prevent them from becoming pawns of other forces."

Qingxuzi nodded: "That's how it should be. Then it's settled. I'll arrange for him to be affiliated with my Xuantian Peak. This boy doesn't have a master to look after him, so we can't neglect him in other aspects."

The implication is that they are opening the door wide to convenience, as Xuantian Peak, as the core of a sect, naturally possesses top-tier resources.

Everyone nodded slightly. Ling Yunxiao didn't have his master's support and subsidies, and he couldn't compare to the other direct disciples in terms of wealth. So it was understandable that he did this.

And so, without Ling Yunxiao's knowledge, several sect leaders finalized his future plans and development.

Logically speaking, given Ling Yunxiao's highly sought-after cultivation talent, which sect would be so foolish as to release such a prodigy?

[Are you out of your mind?]

Lou Yuqing was somewhat puzzled.

Yes, why is that?

The disciples realized this problem and were also very confused.

Ling Yunxiao's heart tightened. Had Haozi even revealed this?

Holy crap, where did this living Yama come from?!

[Is our sect going to go bankrupt too?]

Everyone was a little confused.

Throughout the entire continent, the Wendao Sect is a renowned entity, not only with the Purple Cloud Immortal Venerable in charge, but also with nineteen Nascent Soul cultivators and over a hundred Golden Core cultivators.

They simply couldn't imagine what kind of force could destroy such a behemoth as the Wendao Sect.

Lou Yuqing looked at Ling Yunxiao in horror.

Brother, if I hadn't been sure you weren't a demonic cultivator, I would have thought you were a spy they sent.

[They destroyed ten sects in five years, averaging two sects per year!]

Each sect can't survive more than six months before declaring bankruptcy. It's either due to the fall of high-ranking members in power struggles, internal financial collapse, or the arrival of a beast tide...

Can our sect survive the six-month curse?

Everyone: !!!

Is it really that weird?

Sect Leader Qingxu remained silent. He suddenly recalled the Liuyue Sect, which had disappeared some time ago, the Wanshou Sect, which had disappeared some time before that, and the Fengyun Sect, which had disappeared some time before that…

Although these sects were not as large as Wendao Sect, they still had seven or eight Nascent Soul cultivators. He found it strange at the time, as it seemed to be a time of great turmoil, with many sects suffering losses.

"Sect Leader, shall we continue?" Elder Kui Tu asked.

Qing Xuzi: "..."

The thought of Ling Yunxiao's terrifying record made his scalp tingle.

The scene was very quiet for a moment.

A faint sense of death appeared on Ling Yunxiao's face.

He finally believed that Haozi hadn't revealed his secret to anyone. Although Haozi was a bit unreliable, he wasn't so bad as to harm his brother.

But how did she know?

Ling Yunxiao glanced at Lou Yuqing furtively.

Why is everyone so quiet?

When Lou Yuqing returned after eating the melon, she looked around and thought she had missed a good show.

Everyone smiled wryly: We're worried that the sect might go bankrupt.

Seeing that everyone had quieted down, Lou Yuqing took the opportunity to close the system panel.

A line of text scrolled across the system's fold: "This juicy gossip has been delivered. One hundred and forty-five people were involved: Gu Bugai, Si Nidie, Ling Yunxiao..."

Lou Yuqing's gaze shifted to the second person who reached the top of the ladder and was teleported to the plaza. Bored, she casually clicked on this guy's gossip.

I smiled at first sight.

[What an incredibly embarrassing situation! While using the outhouse, it suddenly collapsed, revealing a completely exposed white buttocks to everyone.]

From then on, everyone just called him "the guy with the perky butt".

victim:?

Everyone: Oh my god.

Pfft!

Some people couldn't help but laugh.

People glanced at the victim, or more accurately, at her buttocks. Was it really that perky?

The facts were revealed in less than a second.

Yes, it really is perky.

The victim's anus tightened, and she blushed with embarrassment: "..."

No, are you guys sick?

Lou Yuqing glanced at the person who was laughing the loudest and complained.

[What are you laughing at? You're not lacking anything either. You ran into the deep mountains and forests and became the apprentice of a wild boar spirit. The boar's drool was practically dripping onto your face, and you were still laughing and joking.]

Hey bro, how's it feeling being a food reserve?

Everyone: Holy crap!

Victim number two immediately performed the "smile disappearing act".

[Luckily, I managed to kill the wild boar demon master in the end and made him into a snack to go with my drinks. Slurp~ It looks pretty good.]

Lou Yuqing swallowed.

Victim #2: That was delicious!

Everyone gave him a thumbs up.

Gu Bugai looked at his little apprentice and thought to himself, "Tomorrow I'll prepare all kinds of monster meat for her. I'm not worried that she won't eat it, I'm just worried that she won't have enough."

As Lou Yuqing revealed more and more gossip, everyone forgot about Ling Yunxiao's ten-kill record and scurried around the gossip field, picking up and eating gossip everywhere.

Ling Yunxiao breathed a sigh of relief.

He planned to retreat to a corner and lower his profile. After careful consideration, Wendao Sect was the most reliable sect he had ever visited, and the one he felt was most likely to break the curse.

He didn't want to die prematurely.

Suddenly, a weight came from my arm.

He turned around and saw the girl tugging at his sleeve, smiling gently, "Don't run around, just stand next to me, so I won't have trouble finding you later."

Ling Yunxiao's eyes flickered slightly, and he stood obediently at his feet.

Lou Yuqing nodded in satisfaction. Although the system said he had a sect collapse buff, she felt it was mostly a coincidence.

What she didn't know was that, in ways the system didn't show, the Wendao Sect ultimately followed in the footsteps of other sects.